Phnom Penh: Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen attacked China over vaccine trial. The PM said that the country is not a dumping ground for Beijing in terms of vaccine trial" adding that the first batch of COVID-19 vaccines will come from the UN-backed COVAX.
According to the report of Asia Times, Hun Sen lashses out at China in blunt terms during a marathon speech on December 15 . He said, "Cambodia is not a dustbin.. and not a place for a vaccine trial." He added that he will only trust and accept vaccines approved by the World Health Organization (WHO). According to the report, Cambodia's government has so far collected US$48 million in donations, mostly from wealthy tycoons allied to Hun Sen's ruling Cambodian People's Party (CPP), which will go towards the US$200 million needed to purchase inoculations.
The first batch of China's Sinovac vaccines has already been delivered to Indonesia. However, there has been no official comment on whether Beijing will donate doses to its so-called "ironclad friend" Cambodia. This is despite pledges from Chinese Premier Li Keqiang in August that mainland Southeast Asian states would be given priority in vaccination process.
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